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Thirteen Stories That Shaped the World in 2013

In 2013, as more people than ever sought their news through social media, the State Department expanded its digital engagement. Our goal was, and remains, to find ways to give you more access to foreign affairs information and more opportunities to offer your opinions. Here are 13 stories from 2013 that shaped our world, as told through social media.

1. The Passing of Nelson Mandela (December): Dr. Maya Angelou, on behalf of the United States, sent this touching poetry tribute as a special message to the people of South Africa after the passing of one of the world’s greatest leaders. The tribute has been seen by over 1,000,000 people.

2. Direct Contact with Iran (September): For the first time in 34 years, a U.S. President talked directly to an Iranian President by telephone. Later that week, Secretary Kerry sent what has been called a “historic tweet” about the shift.

3. Syrian Chemical Weapons Deal (September): With the issue of American involvement in Syria dominating the news, Secretary Kerry explained the situation directly to the American public in a Google+ Hangout with the New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof and Syria Deeply's Lara Setrakian. The event also included questions from American schoolteachers who are affiliated with a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum education program. Two weeks later, the international community reached a deal to dismantle Syria’s chemical weapons.

4. Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks (July): After three years without direct negotiations, Israelis and Palestinians resumed talks on a final status peace agreement. As part of this effort, Secretary Kerry personally made 11 trips to the region this year.

5. Disability Rights (December): The Disability Rights Treaty (CRPD) may soon come up again for ratification in the U.S. Senate, after narrowly not passing in 2012. In this Google+ Hangout with Judy Heumann and Michelle Kwan, paraolympic athletes talked about what the Disability Rights Treaty would mean for them when they travel and for all disabled people around the world.

6. Typhoon Haiyan (November): Following the destruction wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Secretary Kerry encouraged people to donate to the relief effort by contributing an “unselfie” to the worldwide effort to inspire charitable contributions on #GivingTuesday. For his "unselfie," the Secretary held a piece of paper highlighting the website that contains information about donations for typhoon victims.

7. Combatting Climate Change (November): After two intense weeks of climate change talks in Warsaw, all countries agreed to announce their commitments to a new global climate agreement by early 2015. The United States is already working on its contribution. In this animated illustration on Tumblr, we see the dramatic increase in temperature anomalies worldwide in the last century.

8. Egyptian Transfer of Power (July): Since the removal from power of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, supporters and opponents of the new government have clashed repeatedly. The United States has called for nonviolence and respect for human and civil rights on both sides. In this picture from our Flickr photostream, Secretary Kerry speaks with the General Sisi of the interim government about the importance of a having a democratically elected government that is brought about through inclusive, free, and fair elections.

9. China-U.S. Cooperation (April): When California and Guangdong Province signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on low-carbon development, it marked a partnership on energy cooperation between the U.S.'s most populous state and the world’s most populated province. Read the story of California Governor Brown’s trip to Guangzhou and the deep connections between our two countries.

11. The Rise of the Global Entrepreneur (October): At the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kuala Lumpur, young entrepreneurs from around the world gathered to share ideas and show how they are creating the next wave of worldwide innovation. In this YouTube video, Secretary Kerry talks about the American commitment to investing in their future.

12. Malala Day (July): The United Nations declared July 12 Malala Day, in honor of the 16th birthday of Malala Yousafzai. The youngest person to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the Pakistani teen activist for girls’ education and women’s rights continues in her quest despite having been shot in the head and neck for her advocacy work.

About the Author: Douglas Frantz serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs.

Comments

Comments

Maureen V.

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Massachusetts, USA

January 2, 2014

I love what you do at DIPNOTE. Creative stories that highlight life and the pursuit of diplomacy. The ups and downs and great challenges that exist. The hope and the desire to make our world a better place. The endurance necessary to move forward despite setbacks. The spirit. Each individual post is appreciated. So thank you all. Happy New Year. The work goes on and I can't wait.

Eric J.

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New Mexico, USA

January 8, 2014

RE:"Our goal was, and remains, to find ways to give you more access to foreign affairs informationand more opportunities to offer your opinions."-D.Frantz

I think if I were in the Assistant Secretary's shoes right about now I'd be a bit upset to see that every single public comment offered up on the pages of Dipnote current and throughout the archives has gone missing, leaving only record of the name and date of the person's opinion offered as public feedback on this blog.

I'd be even more disturbed when a member of the public inquired about what was going on only to have someone in public affairs tell a fellow who's put a lot of effort over the years to do his part in this "conversation" that his Dept has "nothing to do with that blog" and when asked to be put in touch with the assistant Secretary's office, was instead given a phone number for the State Dept's Passport Hotline.

Unfortunately that's exactly what happened to me last week as I discovered that everything I've ever contributed to this blog (along with everyone else's) has been completely deleted from the public record, called the US Dept.of State, and my inquery was met with incompetence and/or the runaround.

Maybe I was talking to the wrong folks regarding thousands of hours of writing wasted since this blog's inception, totalling thousands of posts, and somewher slightly less than a million words total giving good constructive feedback in common cause. Maybe I should inquire of the Dept's office of Human Rights and labor as to whether such mass deletion of public commentary represents the destruction of intellectual property?

I can't fix what doesn't want to be fixed, and neither can diplomacy, but I've tried many times in many ways, and that's why I'm writing this trying one more time to see if the staff of Dipnote understands the depth of what this mass deletion means and represents. And then takes steps to restore every bit of the deleted text of every public comment ever offered up, immediately.

Otherwise if such mass deletion is permanent and ongoing it pretty well makes the Assistant Secretary's words above pay meaningless hypocritical lip service to the founding purpose of this blog.

I am just one citizen with a very small voice in the matter, but I will use it as effectively as I'm able with sound mind and of good heart.

Sincerely,

Eric Jette

Eric B.

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California, USA

January 10, 2014

It looks like you have adopted a new policy, where the only comments that appear on your site are the purely sycophantic ones.